I
have had many different jobs in my life, but I finally reached a point when I
wanted a career. I looked into everything I enjoyed and realized that graphic
design was exactly what I wanted to pursue. I love art, I am good at it, and I
enjoy working with and helping others.
At a
young age, I became a big fan of pointillism and the value of reality one can
obtain through manipulating dots. I was influenced by Chuck Close and Georges Seurat. I admired their realism and how well each
stroke communicated with each other. As I studied Visual Communication, I
realized that the skill of being able to communicate a message to an audience
not only comes from the amount of realism in the project, but from the lack of
realism, as well. Design classes helped me let go of my desire to create
realism in art and to understand the value of negative space. I learned to
allow lines and shape to communicate the message as much as the imagery or text,
which creates gestalt.
During
a 3D class I began having incredible ideas and concepts form in my mind when a
project was given to me. I would quickly
create thumbnails and descriptions so I could build upon those ideas. It was a wonderful experience. Later I learned the concept of
memes, that there are creative ideas floating all around us and we just need to
be open to them and they will come to us. That was it! I had opened up myself
to memes and was enjoying the advantage of ideas that were there for the
taking.
The
amount of learning and experience I have obtained through attending classes has
made my understanding and designs rise to levels that I was not capable of
before. I
have had great opportunities to use the skills that I am learning in classes to
benefit me, the company I work for, and their clients.
Now,
when I pick up a magazine, I find myself examining the ads more than the
articles. I critique the layout of
billboards and the poor location of text in media. I am very much looking
forward to this school year and the challenging projects that are being
presented to me.
For a final project this past summer, I had to create an art
piece dealing with wildness or wilderness. My memes came to me! I created a set
of four posters. My message was that you have to be in wilderness to understand
what wilderness is. Upon presenting my final piece, I was told the following, “As
a professor, I try to encourage my students to forget about the grade or
pleasing the professor, and to concentrate on their project or the design
itself. Most often if a student is able to do this, a good grade will
result." He added, "You have done that with this design.”
I realize now what good design is and how to create with proper
form, principles, concepts, and gestalt. I still enjoy and respect artists like
Chuck Close and Georges Seurat, but I find more
influence through Saul Bass, Herbert Matters, and many more. As I learn from
designers and professors at Weber State and around the world, I know I have an
opportunity to become an amazing “Big D” designer. When people ask me what I want to be known for, I reply,
“I want to create a design or logo that is known around the world.”
